Prospect of the Day: Maikel Cleto, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals

by John Sickels on Sep 7, 2011 8:01 AM EDT

ST. LOUIS, MO - JUNE 21: Maikel Cleto #63 of the St. Louis Cardinals throws to a Philadelphia Phillies batter at Busch Stadium on June 21, 2011 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jeff Curry/Getty Images)

If you like fastballs, pay close attention to St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Maikel Cleto, just promoted to the majors. Keep in mind that it takes more than pure heat to make a successful pitcher.

Cleto was originally signed by the New York Mets as a free agent from the Dominican Republic in 2006. After a pair of mediocre seasons in the low minors, he was involved in the December 2008, 12-player, three-way J.J. Putz trade which landed him in the Mariners system. More mediocre numbers resulted in 2009 (5.33 ERA in 25 innings in the Midwest League, with a 24/11 K/B but 35 hits allowed), then he was hit hard in the difficult environment at High Desert in the California League last year (6.16 ERA, 83/44 K/BB in 102 innings, 125 hits).

However, Cleto attracted notice by flashing power stuff in the Arizona Fall League, attracting attention of Cardinals scouts. St. Louis picked him up last December for Brendan Ryan, and he’s zipped rapidly through the system this year, spending time at High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A, with a brief major league audition in June. He’s back in the majors now for the September stretch run.

Cleto posted a 2.48 ERA with a 33/10 K/BB in 29 innings for High-A Palm Beach, followed by a 3.93 ERA with a 36/12 K/BB in 34 innings for Double-A Springfield. In Triple-A he had a 4.29 ERA with a 66/43 K/BB in 71 innings. Overall, he’s 8-6, 3.81 this year with a 135/65 K/BB in 135 innings with 117 hits allowed.

Cleto is 22 years old, and a big guy at 6-3, 235 pounds. Pure velocity is Cleto’s best attribute: he works in the mid-90s consistently and has hit 101-102 on some radar guns. He doesn’t always know where it is going due to an inconsistent release point. His basic delivery is sound but he needs to repeat it more efficiently, and made progress doing it this year. Tweaks made by Cardinals coaches have improved his command somewhat, as well as giving him more consistent peak velocity.

Cleto’s curveball and changeup were both rated as poor pitches when he was in the Mets and Mariners system, part of the reason he didn’t dominate despite the heat. Cardinals coaches have worked closely with him to refine the breaking ball (now more of a slider than a curve) and changeup, and word is that both pitches have improved considerably from where they were a year ago, although both remain inconsistent.

Cleto has usually been projected as a reliever, and indeed will hold down that role for the stretch run, but at least a few Texas League and PCL sources believe that a career as a starter is quite possible if he makes further progress with his secondary pitches and command. He’s only 22 years old, still has a lot of development time left on the clock, and has an impressive ceiling.

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The idea of Cleto as a legitimate possible starter is intriguing

The Cardinals’ area of strength in the farm right now is clearly starting pitchers. There are a lot of guys with potential to be excited about.

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by mattybobo on Sep 7, 2011 9:26 AM EDT reply actions

Command

From what I’ve seen he still needs refinement. Maybe a full season in AAA next year and he’ll improve a little more, but at the moment he is more apt to walk batters than get them out at the ML level.

by LTrain8 on Sep 7, 2011 1:01 PM EDT reply actions

So you're predicting a BB rate above 50% in the ML level

The worst this year, minimum 10 IP, is Pat Neshek at 19.6%. He might have a high BB rate, no doubt, but I don’t think he is more likely to walk MLB hitters than get them out.

by cookiedabookie on Sep 7, 2011 2:21 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

BB rate

Let me rephrase then. With his command being as poor as it is he will behind in the count leading to either the walk or tossing fat fastballs that will be laced all over the park. Outs will have more do to with hitters getting themselves out than his location. Either way he must improve on his command alot more than his A/AA numbers suggest to be an effective ML arm.

by LTrain8 on Sep 7, 2011 5:23 PM EDT up reply actions

Watched him a couple times this year

and his command was atrocious. He also sat at 99. I understand his prospect status exists, but I don’t think he’ll ever have the command to hold down a major league bullpen spot. I hope I’m wrong.

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by Dttl89 on Sep 8, 2011 11:36 PM EDT reply actions